When Wayne was a Whippersnapper: Henry Lash

MOUNT EATON -- A view of what pioneer life was like in the early days of Paint Township can be gained by looking at the reminiscences of settler Henry Lash.

Lash was born in Sussex County, N.J., and worked on the farm of his German father, David Lash, until he turned 21. At that time he married Nancy Craven of Pennsylvania, and continued to work on his father's farm for three more years when he set out for the Ohio Country with his wife and two small children.

In the spring of 1825, Henry settled on a quarter section of land 2 1/2 miles outside of Mount Eaton in what was dense wilderness, save for an 18-by-18-foot log structure he had started building the previous fall, but which was little more than a shanty. Before his wife and children could even enter the structure, Henry had to cut out a door opening, as well as an opening for the cabin's single window, for which Henry had brought along a prized glass sash from New Jersey. The cabin, made of round logs, had a clapboard roof, a puncheon (split log) floor, and little else.

His father "moved" the family in a one-horse wagon all the way from Sussex, transporting the young pioneers' worldly goods -- including a bed and a chest of drawers -- and driving two cows the entire distance. When his father set out on the return trip, he bestowed on his son five dollars upon which to survive.

Henry then set to work to open up daylight around his cabin so there would be enough light for crops to begin growing. The first season Henry managed to clear about 10 acres, although he made little money for the first two or three years. In fact, the first year he could not raise the two dollars and 50 cents he needed to pay his property taxes, and had to write home to his father to ask for the money.

At the time Henry moved to Paint Township, that area of the county was being settled almost exclusively by Pennsylvanians. But starting as early as the 1830s, settlers arriving from France started to become prevalent in the township. Within 20 years, French families were in the majority around Mount Eaton. Lash's earliest neighbors were three Dobbins families, along with Isaac Peppard and Leonard Craven. Most of the early settlers in the area were Presbyterians. Henry's wife, Nancy, died at some point and he was remarried on Sept. 25, 1872, to Lucinda Dorland.

In all, Henry had seven children, only one of whom did not live to adulthood. Lash lived to a ripe old age and at 77 remained in good health, despite the hard work and exposure he had endured in battling the wilderness for survival a half-century earlier. He was a pillar of the Presbyterian Church at Mount Eaton, where he was a member for more than 55 years.

Source: "History of Wayne County, Ohio" by Ben Douglass

Reporter Paul Locher can be reached at 330-682-2055 or email plocher@the-daily-record.com.